The state of the art in the design of auto-loading pistols has been adequate to the task of providing reliable service using medium power cartridges and giving accuracy sufficient for self defense at moderate range. For cartridges of greater energy and for long ranges the most popular designs are not capable of delivering the needed performance. As such, magnum power cartridges have been developed for hunting and self defense situations where combatants are wearing body armor. There presently exist some gas operated pistols designed for magnum cartridges but these are generally heavy and cumbersome.
There is a growing trend toward higher energy cartridges in many popular calibers. To the 0.45 ACP has been added the 0.45 ACP+P and later the 0.45 Super. Already these cartridges may be dangerous in older 0.45 ACP pistols made with softer steels. A new cartridge, the 0.460 Rowland, is now commercially available, able to deliver 1000 foot pound magnum performance using a cartridge envelope the same as that of the 0.45 ACP, but, for safety reasons, not chamberable in a pistol designed for the 0.45 ACP. Specially adapted M-1911 pattern pistols are now built for this cartridge. They are both light and handy compared to the gas operated magnum autoloaders, because they follow the original Browning design. The adaptations added to these pistols to handle high recoil energy include lengthening the barrel and slide to six inches and adding “compensators” to moderately add to recoil weight, as well as introducing small “buffers” inside and at the rear of the recoil spring. As will be shown here, these buffer devices are ineffective.
As expected, though, these pistols still receive severe pounding at the end of recoil when the slide impacts the frame. To date, the only effective means of mitigating the destructive effects of end-of-recoil impact, aside from increasing the weight of the slide and barrel, was to increase the rate of the recoil spring. As with weight increases, this means has drawbacks—the increased difficulty of pulling the slide back to charge or clear the pistol, and also the need to strengthen the forward stop fingers at the bottom of the barrel lug (this has been done in some designs by redesigning the barrel to include a “ramp,” ostensibly for aiding feed). Additionally, the assembly and disassembly of the pistol is difficult, needing a special tool or a vise, plus strength with dexterity.
Both increased slide/barrel weight and recoil spring strength appear to have reached their limits. Pistols shooting the 0.460 Rowland are not as popular as they could be because of the added weight and the difficulty of charging and assembly. Instead, magnum revolvers still dominate for hunters.